With the Canucks playing the Maple Leafs tonight it seems like an easy thing to do is write about how J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson would be great ways to put the Maple Leafs over the top this season. Honestly though, other than that one line I’m not sure much more needs to be said on the topic. The fact that they won’t be cheap or easy to fit under the salary cap is pretty much a given, and while Darren Dreger has stated they neither are likely a target for Brad Treliving, who is overly conservative in-season when it comes to player movements, the dream of the Maple Leafs going big remains alive and well until the trade deadline is officially over and mental gymnastics are completed to treat Joel Edmundson as a savvy acquisition.

I’ll drop dreaming big and jump into a few other stray thoughts on the Maple Leafs.

The Leafs’ winning streak coming to an end was always going to be a bummer but the fact that it ended in such spectacular fashion seems to be generating some overactions regarding what is best for the Leafs. Joseph Woll having an off night, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner having goals against in the game that will eliminate them from the Selke conversation this season wasn’t ideal either, and no one wanted to see one of the Staal brothers go off on the Leafs again. The game was unpleasant but needs to be gotten over quickly.

That said, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are both still very capable 2oo-ft players. Joseph Woll is still a valuable part of the Leafs tandem, albeit he might be a bit overworked at the moment, and Staal’s lighting up the Leafs is as much a given as former Leafs lighting up the Leafs.

That said, the Hurricanes playing a fast moving game across all three zones and having success with it shows a gap the Leafs need to address. The good news for the Maple Leafs is that even teams that play that style in the regular season seem to abandon it come playoff time. The Leafs have been focusing on how they want to play in the postseason and having success with it. The best solution might be that Toronto simply hopes a Metropolitan team figures out the Canes instead.

While Marner and Matthews’ numbers are what stands out from goals against perspective, it is worth noting that Rielly had the highest goals against of any Leafs defenceman (3), and the club was without Jake McCabe. Part of the story might be about finding the right fit for Rielly when playing against a fast transition opponent and reaffirms the belief that the Leafs could benefit from one more top four capable defenceman rather than having to rely on Myers, Benoit, or Timmins stepping up into roles they might not be able to handle.

The Leafs hunt for a centre will be an ongoing topic until Brad Treliving pulls the trigger on a deal. Darren Dreger just dropped a list of potential players that could be a fit for the Maple Leafs, but one of the most interesting options is a player he left off his list, Jake Evans.

Evans found his way onto the TSN trade bait board at the 30th spot and arguably makes more sense than some of the players that Dreger was speculating on (I can also appreciate he wasn’t going to rattle off every name and Evans could very well be on the Leafs radar too.)

Evans is a two-way player that has had better offensive success than players like Ryan Strome, Yanni Gourde, Nick Bjugstad, Brock Nelson, and Scott Laughton, all players that Dreger listed as options for Toronto. In addition to outperforming them, Evans’ $1.7M cap hit is a pretty attractive option for the Maple Leafs to consider.

Evans also has the added bonus of the Leafs attempting to bring in another GTA kid home, so there’s that too.

Evans’ underlying numbers this year have been horrendous and his PDO high, making Jake seem like a potential mystery box of what he could bring to the Maple Leafs.

There is appeal in the mystery box. Evans seems like a potential fit for Craig Berube, someone who has a notably different coaching style than Martin St. Louis. Evans will also get opportunities to play in situations better suited for him with linemates that can complement him.

I’m not sure divisional and historic rivals are looking to connect on a deal here, but if Brad Treliving isn’t planning on going big at the deadline, Evans might be one of the better gambles.

Optically, this probably seems like an overreaction to the World Juniors and an underwhelming outing from Cowan and the rest of Team Canada. That isn’t it. In fact, Cowan not having a positive outing at the World Juniors might actually be the best case for keeping him as his stock may have fallen.

The question is a simple one really, it’s where should the Leafs draw the line when it comes to trading away their futures at the trade deadline. So much criticism (and rightfully so) has been attached to Kyle Dubas and the number of first round picks that were dealt for rental players at the trade deadline and with Easton Cowan being one of the few young assets in the Leafs system, moving on from him in a similar situation would be a tough sell.

That said, second round picks and prospects like Topi Niemela are probably too easy to say that the Leafs should move on from. Even the 2026 and 2027 first round picks have the ease of being far off enough that some hope can be held that Brad Treliving could do something to recover a high draft pick in time. Cowan really is the tough question.

Anyone can be traded and there is a price that makes sense for Cowan too, but where is that cut off. Certainly not for a rental. I’d certainly hope not for a bottom six forward or stay-at-home defenceman, but is a second line centre with term reasonable? Probably.

Cowan isn’t projected as a top line player in the NHL. It doesn’t mean he can’t be but even being a top six forward isn’t a guarantee. Given the Leafs current window for success, is the short term definite top six asset more valuable to the organization than a long term top nine forward? Oddly enough after years of demanding the Leafs see things through on their prospect development, I’d chase the instant gratification, and the rising salary cap supports that approach as well as there is a reduced need for relying on entry level contract players to put your lineup over the top.

There will be interest in Cowan and certainly Brad Treliving will have heard his name a few times from rival GMs already, I’d argue that Treliving shouldn’t be hanging up at the first mention of Cowan’s name.